400 grams

On 1st August I was pleasantly surprised to win a Gym Membership at the Serena Hotel. I have been planning to join a gym for at least two years and the reasons I had not joined have been varied, from the time not being there to waiting to buy a track suit first etc. Anyway here I was one lucky guy. So I didn't waste any time (especially when I learnt that there was free juice) and I filled in the long registration form with all sorts of medical questions (are you pregnant?) I was ready to get down. 

So day one I check in and I look at the wide range of equipment and I am somehow intimidated by some of them. When I look at some of the weights I recall college with my former roommate Victor who was a fitness enthusiast. We had a makeshift gym dubbed "Quarry" in Mamlaka B hostel, it constituted tins with concrete in them held together with a metal bar. I want to imagine the weight was balanced in each tin but somehow I don't think so. To be safe we kept on flipping the weights after every set, just to ensure both hands get the same development (is this true or false? Those on the know advise)

Here I was with equipment to measure time, calories, heart rate, power and all those mini details to let you know how much you were "burning". After a quick tour I sat on a bike and started peddling away. It's always nice to observe the different people in the gym, there are different categories.

The beginners trying to cut weight

These were easy to spot. The machines they use are set to the lowest resistance, their demeanour is shy. Most are obviously heavy and are in the range of overweight and obese. They cannot use the free weights. When you meet in the locker room, they avoid the weighing scale.

The regulars

They know all the machines and the instructors. They set the machine to medium resistance and can usually work out for say thirty minutes without looking like they are about to die.

The pro's

Those guys you take one look and wonder if they pump weights for a living. Let me cut short my descriptions coz I can't see myself going on for long without hating!

So with the help of google and eHow.com I thought that it would be best to develop some plan to be some form of guide. This lead me to calculate what is referred to as BMI basically it's a measure of your height versus your weight to ensure you aren't out of optimum weight range. I got a figure of 29 which according to the scale means "over weight but not obese" of course it doesn't help that obese starts from 30 and above. So quickly I set a target to reduce 14 kilos to be within a hood BMI range of about 25. 

With the determination preserved for New Year Resolutions I came up with a plan that involved quitting alcohol and cutting down on sugar and carbohydrates. This was to run simultaneously with the gym training. 

So after one week the weigh in showed a reduction of 400 gms, hmm not too sure what to say about this. I mean... Had I taken a glass of water just before I weighed myself maybe there would be no difference. 

But anyway it was a good start. Let's see how week number two will go. This time I hope the reduction is more substantial!

Daveski

Father's Day

When I think of father's day, it brings up some mixed emotions for me. You see I have never owned a calendar that highlighted this day. This meant that according to how I grew up it really didn't count as a holiday. It was just a shade lower than St. Valentine's day.

If you had a background like mine the day that was most important for any individual was their birthday.

So fast forward to 2013 and here we were, in Kigali being bombarded with messages of goodwill and wishing all fathers a lovely Father's Day. To be honest I don't know the rules of engagement on this day. For one I cannot imagine my late father expecting gifts from us. There was simply no time for such.

So I am curious what does our generation of fathers think about this day? How do we carry out ourselves on this day? What do we expect? Actually most of us were brought up by fathers who don't expect much for themselves. I do recall my dad once saying the best present you can give me is to pass your exams. That's how us African dads are wired. So having a day to recognize is ok, but somehow we have always been selfless and I suppose we should go ahead and do it the African way.. Celebrate this day by giving to our families and children who made us fathers in the first place.